Legacy of Our Veterans' Military Exposures
Justice - social, environmental, human
Protecting our veterans' children™

Cold War Era Exposures

Cold War Era (1945-1991)

Chemical-Biological Warfare Exposures Site

COLD WAR: Provides information on exposures from chemical and biological tests for the 1945-1975 timeframe not contained in either the World War II or Project 112/SHAD sections. Learn more

Toxic Military Exposures

Ionizing Radiation
Exposure from atmospheric and underground nuclear weapons tests. Learn more

Atsugi Waste Incinerator
Atsugi, Japan: Combustion waste disposal that burned industrial and medical waste. Learn more

Camp Lejeune Water Supplies

Tap water contaminated by industrial chemicals at Marine Corps Base Camp in the 1950s to 1980s. Learn more

Occupational Hazards

Exposures from working with chemicals, paints, and machinery during service. Learn more

Chemical-Biological Warfare Exposures

Herbicide Tests and Storage

Agent Orange and other herbicides used in Vietnam, tested or stored elsewhere. Learn more

Mustard Gas

Military tests of mustard agents in the 1940s. Learn more

Project 112/Project SHAD

Military tests of chemical/biological warfare materials conducted in the 1960s to early 1970s. Learn more

Dugway Proving Ground

Edgewood/Aberdeen Experiments

Classified medical studies of low-dose chemical agents conducted from 1955-1975. Learn more

Field Testing of Hallucinogenic Agents

Human Subject Research at Fort Detrick: 1943 - 1973

From 1943 through 1953, biological warfare research on humans was observational in that it was done after occupational exposure incidents or accidents among workers in the biowarfare facilities. These incidents provided the station hospital the unique opportunity to study the onset, clinical course and possible therapeutics for many rare diseases.

In the early 1950s, due to a lack of firm data on human vulnerability to biological agents, the Army began to use human subjects in biological warfare research. Project CD-22, the first of the human research projects, involved the study of Q fever in animals and humans in the laboratory and the field. Operation Whitecoat followed this effort.
Learn more

Non-Toxic Military Exposures

Noise

Harmful sounds from guns, equipment, and machinery that is often experienced during service. Learn more

What's in the News